Northeast District
Physical Therapy Day of Service and Ride for ...
Physical Therapy Day of Service and Ride for Research events this week

A Student’s Reflection from the Assembly of Representatives - Tristan Sulger

The Assembly of Representatives is the deliberative body of the physical therapy profession in the State of California filled with debate, discussion, and voting of motions that directly impact us. On Friday, September 23rd, the 2022 Assembly of Representatives was held at the Hilton Hotel in Anaheim, CA.

Back Row (left to right): Tristan Sulger, Matthew Bennion, Chance Hendricks, Alyssa Breslin, Angie Blaikie, Leonora Fernandez, Brittanie Brantley, Brian Moore, Ruth LeBlanc, Kristin Smith

Front Row (left to right): Maggie Edwards, Shelley Marchetti, Elnaz Nazmi, Lauren Leporini, Asiria Ramirez

The Northeast District was pleased to announce the appointment of two student representatives for the Assembly of Representatives: Asiria Ramirez, SPTA (Institute of Technology Redding) and Tristan Sulger, SPTA (Sacramento City College).

Read below for the perspective and reflection from student representative, Tristan Sulger, SPTA!

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend this year’s CPTA Assembly of Representatives in-person in Anaheim, CA, as a student representative for the Northeast District. It was a great experience, and I had the privilege of being introduced to some of the most influential people in the CPTA and APTA, including the presidents of both organizations, the new PTA board member, and many others. It was inspiring to hear the plans for the future of our organizations, and I look forward to the positive changes to the practice act and organizational structure that are coming. As a PTA student, it was especially exciting to see that a PTA was being put on the CPTA Board for the first time, paving the way for future PTAs to have a larger voice in the CPTA and APTA.

Some of the goals mentioned were expanded roles for PTs to have direct patient care and the ability to prescribe therapy. They are also trying to get postpartum treatment amongst other things included in a better pay model that hopefully will reflect the valuable services that PTs and PTAs provide without any further reductions. There was a push for there to be more community and political involvement by all assembly members, and a call for input and ways to improve communication on all the changes being worked on at all levels. I gained valuable insight into how the CPTA and APTA operate and look forward to becoming part of these organizations as I complete my education and become a full member. I shared my experience with my classmates and encouraged all of them to become members. There are a lot of valuable resources and ways to improve your clinical skills through membership. Improve the way you move!

~ Tristan Sulger

ASSEMBLY OF REPRESENTATIVES RECAP!

Read the full Assembly of Representatives report, written by Northeast District Chief Delegate, Leonora Fernandez!

SAVE THE DATE!

Next year's Assembly of Representatives & CPTA Annual Conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach from October 6th-9th, 2023! Registration opens in April 2023!

A Historic CPTA Election - Brittanie Brantley

Brittanie Brantley, PTA, BS

Brittanie is a NED Nominating Committee Member and PTA Representative to the Assembly of Representatives.

The first-ever PTA Director will be elected and Brittanie Brantley breaks it all down for the Northeast District!

With the California Physical Therapy Association’s (CPTA) 2022 Assembly of Representatives quickly approaching, so are Chapter Board elections. This is an exciting time that includes the gathering of passionate physical therapists (PTs), physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and physical therapy students with the goal of advancing the profession therapy with the goal of advancing the profession of physical therapy.

This year is especially exciting because there is a newly established director position, which for the first time in CPTA’s history, is designated for a PTA to be elected as part of the now ten-person board. A two-thirds majority vote was required and received at the 2021 Assembly of Representatives to support the addition of the Director-PTA.

“the Chapter Board is charged with developing the vision, mission and financial oversight of the organization”
— CPTA Website

The assured representation of a PTA on the CPTA board will provide an additional perspective and pertinent insight to enhance the importance of the PTA in the PT-PTA team in conjunction with deciding on the allocation of funds and the construction of vision and mission components. Over the years, the board members of the California Chapter have worked closely to communicate and collaborate with the PTA Caucus Representative who serves to represent California PTAs at the national level as part of the PTA Caucus. However, this position provides PTAs a seat at the table and a vote on initiatives that will directly impact California’s PTA members. There are currently 455 PTA members and twenty-two accredited PTA programs in California.

The CPTA Nominating Committee is hosting the candidate forum immediately following the Assembly of Representatives at the Hilton Hotel, Anaheim on Friday, September 23rd from 4:15pm-5:30pm in the California A/B ballroom on the 2nd floor. This event will allow you to hear from the two slated candidates, Mandy Johnston, PTA, MEd and Jimmy Pacini, PTA, MEd, as they answer questions from membership. You can also get to know the candidates by reading their candidate statement below.

 Your two candidates for CPTA’s first-ever Director - PTA:

 

1. What is one important issue you see in practice, education or public outreach and how would you as a leader facilitate addressing it?
2. What do you see as your responsibility to foster new leadership?

 

The elected candidate will start their term January 1, 2023. The transition cycle provision will start the position as a two-year term and change to three years in 2025, consistent with the rest of the board positions. Elections will be held with hard copy ballots distributed by mail in early October.

Make sure your vote is turned in by October 31st to take part in this historic election!

APTA House of Delegates - Ben Braxley

Pictured: Selfie of Kelley Kubota (CPTA Vice President) with CPTA Delegation.

Physical Therapy Leadership in Action on the National Scale

Northeast District member and California Delegate, Ben Braxley, reflects and shares his experience at the 2022 APTA House of Delegates.



The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) held the 2022 House of Delegates over the past weekend, and I had the privilege of serving as one of thirty-seven California Delegates.

If some of that did not make sense, that’s understandable, because there is a lot to unpack. 

  • What is a House of Delegates?

  • What does it mean to be a Delegate?

  • Why is California represented by 37 individuals?

  • Why is it a privilege?

What is a House of Delegates?

The House of Delegates is the highest policy-making, deliberative body of the profession of physical therapy in the United States of America. Huh, you say? When you think about policy at the APTA, at the professional level, think about the Code of Ethics guiding PT and PTA behavior, think about the bylaws that dictate the origin and function of our Academies, Sections, and Chapters, and think about our vision:

“Transforming society by optimizing movement to enhance the human experience.” 

Pictured: Dr. Terry Nordstorm. This 2:30 minute video about the “human experience” is worth the watch.

That vision was adopted by the APTA House of Delegates in 2013. Here’s a quick shout-out to Dr. Terry Nordstorm as he spoke about adopting that vision as a California Delegate in 2013. #PTJediMaster

That video of Terry Nordstorm discussing the “human experience” gives you a little flavor of the type of issues that come up and the conversation that occurs within the highest tier of our professional discourse. But yes, we also get into the weeds on where a comma should or should not go, what word has been defined where, and DEFINITELY whether or not our professional association should make statements and adopt policies on politically contentious topics. #TwitterFight vs #BetterTogether

The House of Delegates also elects the members of APTA’s Board of Directors and members of the national Nominating Committee. I previously served on that Nominating Committee and, yes, the House also serves as a great opportunity to catch up with [read: have a beverage with] colleagues and network with the movers and the shakers of our profession. 

Pictured: Ben Braxley (third from left) with former members of APTA’s Nominating Committee.

What does it mean to be a delegate?

Being a Delegate means that I was elected at the Chapter level (California) to represent your voice and opinions at the national level. I was elected by the general membership (all California PT members who voted) following last year’s CPTA Annual Conference. Other Delegates were elected or appointed by their CPTA District. If you do the math on that, it means I was one of twenty-five CPTA elected Delegates and that the remaining twelve come from each of our twelve districts.

why is California represented by 37 individuals?

I have had the honor of serving as a Georgia Delegate (nine delegates at the time) and now also as a California delegate through two cycles. California by the way has the most Delegates of any part of APTA. At thirty-seven, which is based on the ratio of members in our state relative to nationwide membership in all other states, California wields tremendous influence within the House of Delegates and during elections. 37/~450 is more than 8% of the votes. And for perspective, this weekend we had one vote decided by TWO votes. California is a powerhouse, and when we speak, others listen. 

Pictured: California Delegates and Kelley Kubota (CPTA Vice President) during an address from US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra.

why is it a privilege?

Now the big question: Why is it a privilege? Well, someone has to be in the room to advocate for us. And by “us” I mean our State, our District, our area of practice, our vision for the future, and our special populations (be they patient populations, such as individuals with suboptimal social determinants of health, or professional populations, from Neurologic Clinical Specialists #NeuroNerd to PT Proud members to clinicians treating pickleballers). 

Carrying your voice is a privilege in much the same way that caring for a client is a privilege. Each client entrusts some aspect of their wellbeing to us as clinicians, as their care provider. 

Well, in the context of APTA’s House of Delegates, each member of the Association trusts us with their future and by extension, each nonmember does too. Yes, I’m talking about that other 74% of clinicians out there who could care less who has their back at negotiation tables ~or~ who just disagree with APTA tactics. They rely on us to see the profession, as a whole, evolve and grow. Carrying that voice, those expectations, and those ideals make serving as a California Delegate and APTA APTA leader, an absolute privilege.   

Pictured from Left to Right: Laura Gull (Massachusetts delegate), Ben Braxley (California Delegate), James Spencer (Academy of Orthopedics Chief Delegate).

 

Save the date for the 2023 House of Delegates on July 8th (virtual) and July 23rd-24th at the APTA Leadership Congress in Washington, DC!

APTA Advocacy Fly In - Ruth LeBlanc

Ruth LeBlanc, the current Northeast District Secretary/Treasurer, flew to Washington, DC, to advocate for the physical therapy profession as a part of a small group of Key Contacts for an APTA Strategic Legislative Fly-In. Read on to learn about her experience on Capitol Hill.

What is the apta Strategic legislative fly-in?

The APTA Strategic Legislative Fly-In is a targeted strategy for member volunteers from across the country to meet with federal lawmakers and their staff to discuss the physical therapy profession’s legislative priorities. On June 23rd and 24th, 100 APTA member volunteers had 177 meetings advocating for our profession in Washington, DC!

An APTA Strategic Legislative Fly-In, was held in June 22-23 2022 in Washington, DC. I was part of a small group of Key Contacts. I was honored to be part of the experience and advocate on behalf of the Physical Therapy profession.

One of the tasks was to connect with California representatives. I collaborated to schedule time with Sen. Diane Feinstein and Sen. Andrew Padilla; both federal representatives for California. I also connected with Congresswoman Doris Matsui, state representative, because I live in her district. Though I was not able to meet directly with my representatives, I was able to talk at length with their legislative fellows and/or correspondents/assistants. These staffers are the backbone of the office. They are in the position to collect information and provide resources to the representative they work for. 

The four topics or issues discussed are:

I am continually amazed by the support provided by APTA in advocacy. They provided talking points, time to collaborate with collogues and position papers/packets. I was empowered to be a voice for the profession. I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to advocate and use the power of their voice.

~ Ruth LeBlanc

“We in America do not have a government by the majority. We have a government by the majority who participate.”
— Thomas Jefferson

Thank you to Ruth, for sharing her experience, and to the 100 APTA members in total for speaking up and advancing our profession!

Upcoming Northeast District PT Day of Service Project and synopsis of District Meeting

The Northeast District (NED) had a great Business meeting last night. The screen shot below captures our engaged crew discussing the upcoming PT Day of Service event at Oak Park Farmer’s Market at McClathcy Park on Sunday October 9th from 9am to 1pm. We are expecting hundreds of potential participants in our Fall Risk Screening. Please consider coming out to support the event or making a donation.

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After the District meeting we transitioned into an outstanding discussion of this year’s upcoming motions before the deliberative body of the California Physical Therapy Association. Your district is being represented by an outstanding group of nine leaders led by our outstanding Chief Representative Leonora Fernandez.